> Our boys all had lice a couple of years ago - caught from next door, I
> imagine. I treated them with spot-on a couple of times a week apart
> and that fixed it. But no way should any horse have lice all the time!
>
> Mic
My two started rubbing furiously when I got them in June. The tails
were rubbed raw and the manes were going the same way. The fencing was
taking a battering. I was advised by my stable management teacher to
insecticidal shampoo them. She said that the powder isn't for horses
and can be dangerous. I don't know why I didn't ask the vet. Ofeig did
not like her bath. Luckily she got rinsed off by a shower of rain. I
use Deosect (cypermethrin) now for flies and lice. It's the only thing
that works and doesn't upset them especially since I don't have to
apply every day. I apply with a sponge. Spot on sounds good. Is it the
coopers one? (ie deltamethrin). Same family of insecticide. I suppose
some horses become desensitised to the bite and can carry the lice
asymptomatically just like humans. Maybe that's what the vet meant. It
would be important to treat asymptomatic herd members then just like
humans.
Sue coombes
